Back-scattering measurements with a space-separation method

A method for the experimental determination of the back-scattering cross section of arbitrarily shaped obstacles is suggested, which, in a manner analogous to the Michelson interferometer in optics, makes use of a semitransparent mirror in order to separate the incident wave and the reflected wave. A measurement setup is described, and possible sources of error are discussed. The accuracy of measurements is investigated by comparing the measured values of the back-scattering cross section of circular metallic disks with the results obtained from the exact theory.